Sortland16's Weblog

Shannonmar Scortland

Shannon Sortland — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:22:01 +0000

I have travelled across a number of borders in 3 months and every one has been different. There are varying wait time, friendliness and levels of pain that you, the traveller, endure. Namibia was perhaps the easiest – every entry and exit was met with a smile and quick service. In Tanzania just demonstrate some swahili in a friendly cute mzungu girl way and even if your ticket doesn’t match your passport (Shannonmar Scortland for Shannon Marie Sortland) they wave you through. I like TZ in this way – if you seem trustworthy (like at the DHL office receiving a package) you can usually talk your way into (or out of) most things (getting into a secure zone at the airport without a ticket).

The first time i landed in Johannesburg, S. Africa I felt like I was a leper or seriously diseased by the abrupt way she asked for my immunization for yellow fever proof. *In other news, i think i may still get malaria – i got A LOT of bites in the last week… they say it takes 7 days for symptoms to show up so Oct 23-30 i will be on the look out)*

The second entry into S. Africa at Orange River we were stopped because our driver exited the truck on the passenger side of the vehicle instead of through his own door. The guard took offence and threatened to detain the truck saying it wasn’t road worthy. Luckily we got through before he noticed our huge Petrol Leak (appx 1 litre/hour) and was likely left wondering at the huge stain on the ground we left behind.

But the craziest border crossing was definitely the Botswana/Zambia ferry crossing. First of all, in Botswana at every border crossing and sometimes just at the side of the road, you have to exit your vehicle and walk on a mat saturated with chemical to help prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease. Annoying, but not such a huge deal. The Zambia/Botswana ferry crossing is something quite different all together.

In order to get to Zambia you must cross the Zambezi river. This point is where four countries (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia) all converge at one point. The road is lined up with truckers for kilometres and some truckers wait in line to cross the river up to 7 days. You see, there is no bridge, only a small ferry that can carry at maximum 1 truck at a time – you can see how things get backlogged. Apparently there have been talks for years about the need for a bridge at this major border, but it was decided that the most practical place to build the bridge would be within Zimbabwe’s border. According to the guys, Zimbabwe decided that since other countries would be using it, they should be the ones paying the bill as well as a toll to operate. And Zimbabwe should not… So the bridge has not been built.

As you can imagine, after having waited for 7 days to cross the river, truckers are not so impressed when a tourist truck pulls up (with priority) and cuts in line. So we went across without the truck to clear customs and the truck was supposed to be right behind us. An hour and a half later we finally spotted the orange elephant making her way across the Zambezi. It was hot and frustrating, but part of the experience. No big deal. Until crossing back into Botwana we waited for over 3 hours!!!! AHHHH!!! Talk about reminding yourself to have african patience when you are sitting in a dust bowl with now fluids in 35+ degree heat, just… waiting. The truck finally made it and we were on our way.

I’m excited for my “welcome home to Canada” i will get in approximately 36 hours after 26 hours of flight.

This will be my last post until then. See everyone soon!!

Things you don’t see in Seattle…

Shannon Sortland — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:59:40 +0000

Things I’ve realised are important to me: Friends and Family. This is not to say I haven’t had a great time on the other side of the globe… nor is it to say i haven’t met some absolutely fantastic life altering people (I have and you know who you are!) It’s just been really surprising to find how much I crave news from home – not news, but contact I guess. Being away has allowed me to strengthen some bonds, and while contact with others may be more infrequent, I want you to know you have all been in my thoughts. It’s nice to get an email from Kimm when we are lax at the best of times at maintaining contact – and it makes me so happy whenever mom emails that gramma and grandpa are asking about the blog – or getting a msg from Auntie Marianne made me so happy.

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that the time is nigh, and i will be departing this fabulous continent in a few days. The most common question i get is when i will be returning to africa, and it’s so hard because at best i can say “soon i hope” or “maybe in 5 years”. That is the nearest forseeable time i can see myself returning and even then – now that i’ve been here my appetite is only whet to see more of the world. (as a side note Australia is now higher on my list of places to go than it’s ever been before… after a month of cruising around exclusively with Aussies – with the exception of one canadian who is actually also an edmontonian – i feel like i know way more about aussie culture than i would have learned living in australian hostels with other backpackers. AND pretty much anywhere i go in that country i’ve now got a place to stay – already had Perth locked up, now the rest as well!).

But yeah, i guess these feelings of… homesickness (?) are a result of my imminent return and everything i have to do once i get there. It’s going to be so weird. Everything from being able to prepare my own food (thank god, it’s so different living by someone else’s schedule and your days are planned around when you eat) and not every few days having gastro. To driving on the right sid eof the road – to actually having a hot mix paved road, to traffic being controlled where if there’s a jam you don’t just drive on the sidewalk and honk. I’m soo looking forward to the absolute fresh air that edmonton has that isn’t marred by burning garbage, exhaust or just heat. I’m NOT excited for the weather. I know, oh woe is me, but the coldest it has been was one night in Pretoria it was 4 degrees… every other day has been pretty much 25-35, and lately all in the mid to high 30s. That isn’t to say i haven’t been cold. My sleeping bag has been the bane of my camping existence (damn you MEC staff and recommending this piece of crud). I basically froze every night we camped, layering everything i packed on and using my kangas as extra blankets and scarves wrapped around my head. That being said, other than pretoria (the night of s. african winter hell) the coldest it’s gottne has been maybe 18 in swakopmund, namibia and we all almost died of frostbite/whinging about the cold. I lso have really never been that high above sea level so our altitude, climate and distance from the bath that is the Indian Ocean all concern me. It will also be odd not to be a local celebrity. Didn’t experience this too much camping, but certainly here again in bagamoyo i am recognized everywhere i go. It is going to be weird to have a cell phone. EVERYONE in all of the places i’ve been has a cell phone. People can’t afford to eat, but they all, and i mean ALL have a cell phone. Allison and Sean, you wouldn’t survive. I’m also quite nervous about, and looking forward to, ahving the run of my own apartment, sleeping in a room alone (The Skylight doesn’t quite qualify when you factor in the mozzies and i’m beginning to think bedbugs).

I could discuss the variance in wealth but nothing Edmonton has can comp[are to Paul Allen’s monstrosity we came across in Cape Town’s harbour. The boat alone is worth over $125 million. Attached to it were 2 seadoos, a sailboat, a speedboat, and not one but TWO helicopters. Who needs two helicopters?? Paul Allen that’s who. Bagamoyo has kids tying empty water bottles around their waists as a flotation donut (rudimentary yet effective) and Paul Allen has 4 of these boats….

Anyways, this has been a really train of thought blog, when all I really wanted to say was this: Even thought my heart is full of love for Africa I miss my friends, and importantly my family and can’t wait to see everyone.

MAAAAAZAVENYAAAAAAA

apologies

Shannon Sortland — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 13:12:58 +0000

I would like to apologize to Mom, Gramma, Kimm, Allison, Dana Schlecker and anyone else i have ever failed to help pull my own weight around and help out… I hadn’t realized how ANNOYING and absolutely frustrating it is to have someone who does absolutely nothing around camp. One of the girls how was on from Pretoria never in the entire 31 days i was with her did more than wash her own plate. Which is fine if she didn’t want to help (helping was pretty voluntary but everyone else pitched) but she’s the first to flip out when we’re late leaving camp… as if the rest of us are taking too long to clean up. It wouldn’t be a huge deal, but after 30 days – seriously… get a clue. She also has the really bizarre temper tantrums. I get along with her (one of the only campers who does) 1-1 but Seriously!!!It also fills me with this self-righteous indignation which no one wants to have. Bah!

Anyways, so i’m sorry if anyone has ever felt these feelings about me… i know i can be lazy sometimes and get used to things being done for me. What an undesirable character trait…. but i guess i’m also not psychotic so that helps

In Swakopmund Namibia I went Sandboarding and quadded on the dunes. Swakopmund is part of the namibian desert and has these massive sand dunes everywhere. Sandboarding is like snowboarding except, obviously it’s on sand. It is super duper fun, but unfortunately hard to get a lot of runs in as you have to climb up the 150m dune for every run… not fun… especially after 20 odd days of little to no activity. The boarding itself is wicked and actually they have a “Lay down” board you can use which basically is like a tobaggan and skeleton piece of board. My top speed on that was 69km/hr but one fo the girls got up to 75. Tres Fun.

Quadding was alright, but we (as in all the girls) got stuck riding these pathetic 125s… as in the same motor that’s in a city scooter. I mean, we had as much fun as we could, but basically it was like driving and incredibly weak snowmobile. Lyle could’ve done some serious damage (as in fun) on some of the more powerful quads, as the guys all had a wicked time. That’s something that is totally apparent in Africa… not to sound crude, but if you have a vagina, there are certain things that you are unable to do (drive a quad with more power than Christy’s motorcycle). Oh well, Jodi and I started having fun once we realised if we didn’t keep up with the guide we could hang back and pin it and race and do jumps. That became A LOT of fun.

xxx ooo

Bushmen with Bling – the Okavango Delta

Shannon Sortland — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 08:31:56 +0000

We just spent three days on the Okavango Delta in Botswana. We had been prepared to pack a small day pack for the three day excursion – one night of which was spent on a houseboat, which – let me tell you – was a nice change from camping. With the exception of the that night, i have been sleeping in a tent since September 14. We were all pretty excited for the third night which we were to be spending for the first time in a total bush camp with a bunch of traditional Polers. These are people who continue to make their living poling the traditional mokoros (dugout canoe). We were to pole out to an island in the delta and set up camp there.

You can imagine our surprise when we pulled up to find around eight 18-25 year old Gangstas. The head poler “Manpower” explained some safety rules for the mokoros (if a snake jumps in the boat don’t panic or move – some are poisonous but your poler will take charge, if a hippo charges your boat don’t panic or move, your guide will take control) and we were off. Our poler “Snigger” (you can imagine the discomfort of having to say that name) is 24, had stick on bejewelled earings and a gangsta baseball cap (3 sizes too big with a flat brim worn slightly to the side). After setting up camp (which truly was in the bush amongst what seemed like hundreds of piles of elephant dung) we embarked on a “nature walk”. This also included a safety briefing. To truly appreciate the safety briefing you have to imagine, not some old grizzled bushman wearing khaki or leather with a gun and safari hat giving it, but a young guy with Tommy Gear underwear on his head, a gold $ necklace around his neck, matchstick in his mouth and a camo g-unit tshirt. “If a buffalo attacks – hide. If a lion charges us, stay still and we will control the situation. If an elephant charges, get behind me (Manpower) and my friends will climb onto each others shoulders to confuse the elephant”.

As nervous as we were, the guys were super awesome. Manpower, Immortal, Snigger and the gang managed to track animals and spot wildlife really well. I felt really safe in my dugout canoe even though we got quite close to the hippos in the hippos pool. One even woke up in the bushes and charged into the water – not in our direction thankfully. As we poled towards camp we mentioned that we had been promised a safe swimming hole. So our gangstas pulled up to some of the stillest, murkiests, shallowest water (croc free thankfully) and all stripped down to their knickers and went swimming. Good Ole Snigger had neon green striped briefs that were fairly transparent when wet. I had to turn aways when he hopped back into the boat from embarrassment haha. Mathew went too and we’re all pretty sure that he either has skin worms or the fabled but worm for sure. When we got back to camp Jodi and I went to go pee in the bushes and ran into Immortal who warned us not to continue in the left direction as there was an elephant that way – we walked to where he was pointing and BAM it was right there. We defintely would have been peeing on its back legs.

Was a wicked time, the boys knew their stuff and i would recommend it wo anyone.

Shannon Sortland — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 07:56:41 +0000

Alive

Shannon Sortland — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:42:15 +0000

Hey Everyone

First chance at a computer in 10+ days, and I’m REALLY sorry that i’m not emailing/facebooking everyone back. I have read (almost) all of the messages ad the really warmed my heart, and i will respond to everyone when i have the time on the comp. In the middle of botswana (and by middle i mean right by the border with Zambia). Just arrived from Vic Fall (hee hee went to Zimbabwe…) was incredible. Whole journey thus far has exceeded most expectations. Bungee jumped the 110 metre drop from the gorge between Zambia and Zim… Pictures to follow.

Just a quick one today. I love everyone and will write a more interesting blog once i have the time and computer. Peace and love

boo

Shannon Sortland — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 06:58:52 +0000

So after discussions with the consulate in S. Africa, I will not be able to vote this election. I am so pissed. It’s like, i have been here for less than 2 months and i have no power in the outcome of the next five years of my life.

wtf elections canada

Shannon Sortland — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:29:11 +0000

Does anyone know where/how i vote in this upcoming election? I will be in South Africa in the bush on october 14….

Yikes

Shannon Sortland — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:53:21 +0000

Today marks my halfway point in Africa. Whoa. One more week in Bagamoyo then 5 more throughout Southern Africa. Crazy. It is getting really hot here as we head into summer and i am going to DIE when I get home to Edmonton, especially if there is barafu (ice/snow) on the ground.

#27 – Squirrel

Shannon Sortland — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:56:08 +0000

This past weekend, Savannah, Stephanie, Hailey (Mitzie), and myself flew to the Mt. Kilimanjaro airport to go on safari. The trip consisted of the Ngorogoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, and Lake Mynara and was a-mazing!
We flew in to Kili in the early morning, and unfortunately it was too cloudy to see the 2nd largest mountain in the world… some “wonder of the world” lol. Seriously. Anyways, our driver picked us up and drove us to Arusha where we were to meet up with our Tour Company and guide. Arusha is totally nuts but nothing compared to Dar, that’s for sure. We drove past the U.N. tribunal for Rwanda and were a touch confused when our driver turned into the parking lot. As we went through the metal detectors and security (Guard: “where are you going” Us: “we don’t know, we’re following that guy”) feeling fairly apprehensive about where our driver was leading us (Us: “is this a prison? Where are you taking us?” Driver: “Hahahaha”) we came up to the Tour Company office. So, apparently yes, the tour guide’s office, IS infact in the offices of the U.N… TIA…
We paid our money and went for lunch while our new driver/guide “Abdallah” finished stocking up the car and we were off for what has been the most exhilarating experience thus far.
The Crater is billed as the 8th wonder of the world, and it didn’t disappoint. The landscape around Arusha is so crazy. One minute you are in what seems to be the jungle, then the Rift Wall raises up in magnificence around you, then the short grasses of Ngorogoro are all there is to see for miles. Well, the short grasses and a million animals who are protected in the national park. Apparently the Crater used to be a mountain (volcano?) that collapsed in on itself, creating a unique habitat for Tanzania’s wildlife. Immediately upon entering the crater we were the first car to come across two cheetahs feeding on what looked to be a zebra. Cheetahs are rarely seen in the Crater (more in the Serengeti) so it was quite a fantastic sight to see these two predators chowing down on breakfast. One had blood all over its white chest which served as a subtle reminder that we were viewing nature at its rawest.
In the crater we saw: Cheetahs, water buffalo, a rhino (one of only 15 in the whole crater), baboons, 4 lion cubs, 2 lions in mate, 2 lions actually mate (didn’t get a picture because I couldn’t zoom so well and chose to just watch through the binocs… pervert), zebras, warthogs (which we exclusively referered to as “pumbas”), hyenas, HIPPOS!!, wildebeests, Thompson’s gazelle, Hunter’s gazelle, dikdik (small gazelles that look like deer who are approximately the size of a rabbit – SOO cute) and impala.
The next morning we set off for Lake Mynara where a huge family of baboons started climbing our car and a family of elephants was close enough to touch. At Mynara, in addition to elephants, we also added giraffe and hornbill (Zazu) to our list… and many, MANY birds, in particular millions of flamingos.
We headed back to the campsite for lunch where Mitzie realised that she didn’t have her money belt. Shit. A frantic search yielded zero results and we were forced to accept that whether lost or stolen, Mitzie was now without a)money b) visa c) bank card d) her passport. Turns out that a stolen passport is not considered a “life or death” emergency, and the American Embassy was not impressed when we used that extension for help as they were closed for the weekend. Also, just because there is a tracking device in your American passport does NOT mean that the embassy will locate it and tell you where it is (as Canadians we do not have this chip… the Canadians also didn’t get the warning email from the embassy that the Americans got from theirs regarding increased terrorist activity). Anyways, since she had a photocopy of her passport, is registered with the embassy, and is a resident (woo we love saying we are residents) it should not be a big deal to replace it. Lol, I say that, but who knows she is in Dar as I type this and hopefully all works well. Anyways, after filing a police report (Stephanie was proposed to by the head, like, FBI guy) we decided that since we couldn’t do anything else, we might as well continue our safari, so off we headed to Tarangire.
Tarangire at night kind of blew, but mostly because we were tired. However, we awoke at 5 am to embark on our morning game drive which was… the BEST part of the safari bar none. We came across a pair of mating lions and the male was NOT impressed to see us. In fact, he chased us. Let me say that again: The King of Beasts charged my car in the middle of Africa. Holy Shit. Holy Moly Crapoly. I ducked shouting “DRIVE DRIVE” while everyone else snapped photos. Our guide nonchalantly sat in the driver’s seat calmly explaining that the male won’t leave his mate more than 10 meters. And he didn’t. I’m apparently a big chicken. A big chicken who doesn’t want to die via lion mauling. Did I mention the sun was rising as we were sitting there. There is not quite any other experience on earth that compares to sitting in the savannah at dawn staring down a massive pair of cats. As we drove away we saw something black moving in the grass (which is very long in Tarangire). No big deal… just a leopard. SO AWESOME. Leopards are not found in Tarangire and are known for their shyness making them difficult to spot as they usually hang out hiding in trees. We saw one stalking through the grass like she owned it. It is such an amazing site, I can’t even do it justice… neither can my photos… it is something that will have to live in my memories which I’m sure will not fade anytime soon.
All in all we saw a total of 31 different types of animals, not including all of the different bird species (we would write down “bird”), nearly none of which have any equivalent I can think of in Edmonton other than at the Valley Zoo.
The safari was awesome, but I have to say again that I’m so happy that I am in Bagamoyo and not in the Kilimanjaro placement. It’s so cold, so touristy, and so…. Bare. Bagamoyo is so much more my vibe, and I definitely love the coast. Oh yeah… and we went on a “tour” of a Massai village… it was so sad. Basically, we paid to see what Massai life is like, and were shown what Massai life has become—a culture that is being sold for tourism. You can’t blame them as their culture is being slowly wiped out and they are forced to depend on tourists, but it was so bizarre. And heartbreaking.
Anyways, just over one week left here in Bagamoyo and I’m not looking forward to leaving. I’m sure the rest of my trip that I have planned will be fantastic, but this town is home to me now and will always have a special place in my heart.
I’ve also come to realize that my blogs are very train of thought… A.D.D….